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Plan to address Central Ohio’s economic inclusion problem is taking shape
By Zachary Jarrell
Columbus Business First
A plan to address Central Ohio’s economic inclusion problem is taking shape.
Last year, Columbus ranked last for racially inclusive growth among the “very large” cities analyzed in the Brookings Institution’s Metro Monitor report, which compared cities’ growth from 2012 to 2022.
The report was a critical component of a local economic inclusion study conducted by Regionomics LLC owner Bill LaFayette and commissioned by the Columbus Urban League.
“The problem weighs heavily on our economy in a number of different ways, so addressing it would be really beneficial,” LaFayette said at his annual economic forecast hosted by the Columbus Metropolitan Club on Jan. 8.
In an interview, Columbus Urban League CEO Stephanie Hightower said she has started having “quiet conversations” about the task force to get the ball rolling.
“The Urban League can’t do this on its own,” she said. “We have to have real, true partners and people who are going to be just as committed to this as we are.”
Hightower wants to have recommendations to bring to the community by the end of the year.
LaFayette’s study, called Fostering Economic Inclusion in Central Ohio, found that if Columbus improved the poverty gap between white, non-Hispanic people and people of color, the region’s economy would benefit greatly.
One estimate – based on strong assumptions, LaFayette acknowledged – found additional employment and spending generated from the improvement would take the region’s GDP from $205 billion to $247.4 billion by 2032, a difference of $42.4 billion, or nearly 21%.
He also estimated employment in the region could grow by 153,700 jobs by 2032, or 12.6%.
“We shouldn’t take the numbers themselves seriously,” he said. “The point is simply that the benefits would be really, really big.”
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